MF - McClellan corner brace ID help

[Old tool guy]

Need a little help please. This interesting corner brace followed me home and I’m having a problem identifying it. It looks original except the nut & bolt holding the long arm to the back of the casting behind the v-block. Both handles on the end of the long arm are factory pinned, neither turns.

The crank handle is marked Pat.u.s.june 8 & 29-1897

The chuck shell is stamped Millers Falls and pat feby 18 1890

Other than that, there are no markings. It seems to be in very good condition, almost no rust, and much of the original japanning remains.

 

[RTM]

I hate to say it, but I think someone bastardized the handles. Here in the image from 1912, closest to your patent dates. Most look like this, with the handles tied together.

https://archive.org/details/MillersFallsCatalogueNoH/page/n23/mode/1up

Nothing else different in the online catalog thru 1925, when your first patent should have been removed.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

 

[Old tool guy]

You’re usually correct … however … if it was a field-modified brace they went to extremes to do it. The crank handle drive shaft is enclosed in a tube. The v-casting doesn’t have any weld marks.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the chuck is from a different tool, but the rest looks genuine.

 

[crguy]

Need a little help please. This interesting corner brace followed me home and I’m having a problem identifying it. It looks original except the nut & bolt holding the long arm to the back of the casting behind the v-block. Both handles on the end of the long arm are factory pinned, neither turns.

The crank handle is marked Pat.u.s.june 8 & 29-1897

The chuck shell is stamped Millers Falls and pat feby 18 1890

Other than that, there are no markings. It seems to be in very good condition, almost no rust, and much of the original japanning remains.

That's a McClellan patent corner brace, and it's correct. They came with Millers Falls chucks and were apparently manufactured by Millers Falls. They come with different features, and are some of the coolest corner braces.

 

[crguy]

I hate to say it, but I think someone bastardized the handles. Here in the image from 1912, closest to your patent dates. Most look like this, with the handles tied together.

https://archive.org/details/MillersFallsCatalogueNoH/page/n23/mode/1up

Nothing else different in the online catalog thru 1925, when your first patent should have been removed.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

Nope, it's a McClellan patent and it's correct.

 

[Old tool guy]

Stephen at some stage moved to Paris, Texas; married, and is listed in the 1880 census of Paris as a house painter. Sometime later the family moved to San Marcos in the hill country of Texas and during this period he began inventing and patenting drills and braces.

Between 1894 and 1899, Stephen and his family moved again to Brooklyn, New York. Stephen worked as a salesman for Millers Falls in Massachusetts, the Company that manufactured his inventions (hence the Millers Falls chucks on his braces and drills) Stephen died on Nov 14, 1925 in Brooklyn, New York.

 

[Old tool guy]

Interesting. From the sydnassloot web page, they list this as a class B item … between 6 & 20 examples seen. Nice. I paid $42.

I modified the thread title in case someone does a title-word search.

 

[crguy]

Interesting. From the sydnassloot web page, they list this as a class B item … between 6 & 20 examples seen. Nice. I paid $42.

I modified the thread title in case someone does a title-word search.

They aren't quite that scarce, but at $42. you were well under the value. I've owned 5 myself, and still have these 2. One similar to yours and one earlier.

 

[Old tool guy]

Can you please show some details of this connection. Mine has a modern nut & bolt which is clearly wrong.

 

[RTM]

I hate to say it, but I think someone .....

Whew, glad I did hedge my bet a bit with "I think". I'd be looking really silly right now.

That's a McClellan patent corner brace, and it's correct. They came with Millers Falls chucks and were apparently manufactured by Millers Falls. They come with different features, and are some of the coolest corner braces.

Now that I am off my phone, looking at a real screen, it definitely looks manufactured, not hacked. Unfortunately, I can't find my CD with the Boring book on it, lots of brace and assorted boring things and their patents included. Need to do more poring over the DATAMP patents stuff, increase my level of education on the obscure stuff.

 

[crguy]

Can you please show some details of this connection. Mine has a modern nut & bolt which is clearly wrong.

 

[WisJim]

I've had a few of these and still have at least one virtually identical to this. I'll get photos when I get home later today. The Facebook vintage drill group has had discussions about these.

 

[WisJim]

Found a picture on my phone of 3 of my McClellan tools. Mine that's like yours has a different chuck, I think it's the one shown on the patent.

 

[Old tool guy]

Thanks crguy. I’m missing the u-bolt and wingnut, everything else matches. J-bolt? I can make that part, the nut will be difficult.

 

[WisJim]

A photo of Stephan McClellan with some of his tools. I don't remember who I got this scan from.